Bomb blast rips through popular shrine in Pakistan

Bomb blast rips through popular shrine in Pakistan

A suicide attack at a shrine in Sehwan, in Sindh province, southern Pakistan has claimed 72 lives and injured 250 more.

The attack occurred at the shrine of ‘Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar‘.

The incident

The bomber had entered the shrine through its Golden gate and had triggered the bomb while among the devotees while ritual of sufi dance ‘Dhamal’ was taking place. The responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State.

Thursday is considered a sacred day for Muslims to pray at the centuries-old shrine, thus being crowded at the time of the attack.

The blast is reportedly the deadliest in a series of attacks in the country just this week. The previous attacks were claimed by Pakistani Taliban and other Islamist militants.

Death-toll breakdown

> Men – 43> Women – 9> Children – 20

The death-toll is feared to rise

Other attacks

Two separate bombings in the country’s north-west killed at least seven people on Wednesday. And on Monday, at least 13 people died in a suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to fight the militants who have carried out attacks.